At 7/23/08 07:15 PM, Bazi wrote: Woah haven't been here for a while. Sup all.

Anyways, my situation: I just got a real gym membership (no more reliance on school gym anymore) so I can workout whenever I want, heh.

I setup a 4day split body workout that includes deadlifts, squats, etc, to achieve as much muscle mass as possible. That's my main goal for the moment. To achieve my goal I've been eating cleaner (not really bulking or cutting atm, just getting into the groove of lifting again) and working on a good stack to help me out.

Working out 3 times a week is all that you need, if you go for 4 your really just pushing it. If you really want to work out 4 days just make sure that you are taking AT LEST one day of rest in between your workouts or else your muscles will not have enough time to recover.

I've been doing this workout for about a week now and so far I really really like it. I've had a buddy that's been doing it for 3 weeks now and he finally convinced me to try it with him after I saw how well it was working for him.

Anywho, my stack:

Syntrax Whey Protein (gonna replace with Optimum 100% whey after the tub is done)-Morning and post workout.

With a good diet you shouldn't have to worry about taking that much protein even if your looking to bulk not to mention, it will save you money on your protein. For post workout I usually take 2 scoops of Muscle milk which I've been using for ever and has never done me wrong.

Recently I've been taking from GNC Mass XX which is great for bulking... I fucking hate the store because they are overpriced and sell crappy ass products. Not to mention the people that work there don't know shit for shit, and the ones that do buy all their products from different shops or online. They're Amplified Creatine 189 passed right through me without dissolving(serves me right for buying anything from GNC) , but the prices they have on their GNC brand proteins(Which I figured out our manufactured by ON Nutrition who make way high quality protein) are hard to beat on gold card days :p.

No-Explode (trying it out, pretty good pre workout pump)-Pre workout.

This right here, is the one thing that I can really say that you are doing wrong. I don't mean to make you feel like an idiot or anything but listen closely.

NO-EXPLODE IS FUCKING SHIT.

It is probably THE worst pre-workout supplement that I have ever touched in my life and probably one of the worst on the market. It gave me horrible jitters, stomach problems after using it for awhile, it tasted like rotting asshole, and compared to many others that I have tried- barely any if at all a pump.

Not to mention that I almost guarantee you that by the end of the tub your going to be need to be taking around 4 scoops to get any effect from it at all which is what I had to do and I don't even weight that much. So when you figure it that way, this shit is fucking expensive.

Right now I'm taking NO-Shotgun which I have been receiving GREAT results from. Though it does taste pretty rank it gets the job done and then some.

After that is out I'm definitely going to buy myself some White Flood OR what my friend swears by and many many people highly recommend Ragnarok. They say it's an amazing product and the taste is suppose to be amazing too. He's also 230 pounds and he's never had to take more than one scoop to get the energy that he needs.

Optimum Nitro Core (many amino acids, good mix of whey and casein)- my bedtime protein, after this tub I may just stick with a more tradition casein supplement however.

Like I said, one scoop of Mass XXX after you work out if your looking to bulk is all your ever going to need. That's just my opinion of course, your diet might be different than mine and you might need to be drinking more shakes for extra protein.

I feel that is all I need so far but it doesn't include one thing I really feel I need: Creatine.

I've done alot of research on how it works, what it is, etc. and feel that creatine is a powerful tool for muscle gain that would be foolish to pass up.

Your totally right, creatine is great, me personally I would suggest from what I have experienced myself, heard from reviews, friends who have taken it along with me- No contest, the winner is Green Mag

Thanks all.

You're welcome :)

Working out 3 times a week is all that you need, if you go for 4 your really just pushing it. If you really want to work out 4 days just make sure that you are taking AT LEST one day of rest in between your workouts or else your muscles will not have enough time to recover.

The way I have it is I lift Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday is a break, lift again on Thursday and Friday then Saturday and Sunday is a break.

This will be my second week doin it and I'm really liking it, I enjoy being in the gym.

With a good diet you shouldn't have to worry about taking that much protein even if your looking to bulk not to mention, it will save you money on your protein. For post workout I usually take 2 scoops of Muscle milk which I've been using for ever and has never done me wrong.

Yea a good chunk of your daily protein should come from your diet but the supplements do help me out in hitting me 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of weight.

Recently I've been taking from GNC Mass XX which is great for bulking... I fucking hate the store because they are overpriced and sell crappy ass products. Not to mention the people that work there don't know shit for shit, and the ones that do buy all their products from different shops or online. They're Amplified Creatine 189 passed right through me without dissolving(serves me right for buying anything from GNC) , but the prices they have on their GNC brand proteins(Which I figured out our manufactured by ON Nutrition who make way high quality protein) are hard to beat on gold card days :p.

Yea GNC stuff is pretty overpriced and all that, most of the stuff I buy came from either Vitamine Shop or my Gym itself. I now plan on buying all of my supps online tho from bodybuilding.com, a site I'm sure you guys know of :P

No-Explode (trying it out, pretty good pre workout pump)-Pre workout.

This right here, is the one thing that I can really say that you are doing wrong. I don't mean to make you feel like an idiot or anything but listen closely.

NO-EXPLODE IS FUCKING SHIT.

It is probably THE worst pre-workout supplement that I have ever touched in my life and probably one of the worst on the market. It gave me horrible jitters, stomach problems after using it for awhile, it tasted like rotting asshole, and compared to many others that I have tried- barely any if at all a pump.

Not to mention that I almost guarantee you that by the end of the tub your going to be need to be taking around 4 scoops to get any effect from it at all which is what I had to do and I don't even weight that much. So when you figure it that way, this shit is fucking expensive.

Right now I'm taking NO-Shotgun which I have been receiving GREAT results from. Though it does taste pretty rank it gets the job done and then some.

After that is out I'm definitely going to buy myself some White Flood OR what my friend swears by and many many people highly recommend Ragnarok. They say it's an amazing product and the taste is suppose to be amazing too. He's also 230 pounds and he's never had to take more than one scoop to get the energy that he needs.

Yea, no offense taken, it hasn't been too good of a pump. As soon as the tub is done I'm most likely gonna try out White Flood, heard some really good things.

Optimum Nitro Core (many amino acids, good mix of whey and casein)- my bedtime protein, after this tub I may just stick with a more tradition casein supplement however.

Like I said, one scoop of Mass XXX after you work out if your looking to bulk is all your ever going to need. That's just my opinion of course, your diet might be different than mine and you might need to be drinking more shakes for extra protein.

The only reason I take that protein is because of the slow released/digesting proteins in it, I really can't stand cottage cheese at all so I needed a shake to keep me good throughout the night :P

I feel that is all I need so far but it doesn't include one thing I really feel I need: Creatine.

I've done alot of research on how it works, what it is, etc. and feel that creatine is a powerful tool for muscle gain that would be foolish to pass up.

Your totally right, creatine is great, me personally I would suggest from what I have experienced myself, heard from reviews, friends who have taken it along with me- No contest, the winner is Green Mag

Yea I heard great things about Green Mag as well, I got Optimum Micronized Creatine instead because I wanted a Creatine Monohydrate so I could mix it with my post workout Protein shake.

If I were to use Green Mag in the future how would I take it? Drink that first then the post workout protein after?

At 7/30/08 12:40 AM, Bazi wrote:

The way I have it is I lift Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday is a break, lift again on Thursday and Friday then Saturday and Sunday is a break.
This will be my second week doin it and I'm really liking it, I enjoy being in the gym.

Yeah, once I finish my month of the above workout which I'll be on my 3rd week after this I'm going to start hitting the gym a bit harder. Breaking it down to 2 muscle groups a day like I used too.

Chest and Tris, back and bi's, Legs and Shoulders.

Yea a good chunk of your daily protein should come from your diet but the supplements do help me out in hitting me 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of weight.

It really depends on how much you weigh, me personally I'm a smaller guy I only weigh 135-140 pounds so with a good diet it isn't hard for me to keep my 1.5-2 gram mark. For bigger guy, which I assume you are one, shakes would be a lot more helpful in making sure you get the right amount.

Yea GNC stuff is pretty overpriced and all that, most of the stuff I buy came from either Vitamine Shop or my Gym itself. I now plan on buying all of my supps online tho from bodybuilding.com, a site I'm sure you guys know of :P

Yeah, GNC is a huge waste of money if you're buying anything other than protein. I just buy all mine there because there happens to be a GNC right across the street from my house. Make sure you check out nutraplanet.com, I'm not sure how most of their prices compare to bodybuilding.com, but they have some amazing deals when shit goes on sale.

Yea, no offense taken, it hasn't been too good of a pump. As soon as the tub is done I'm most likely gonna try out White Flood, heard some really good things.

Yeah, it's a great pre-workout that's for sure, I've used to before and was very please with it. If I were you I'd look more into Ragnarok though... I hear amazing things from it so I've been very much wanting to give it go once No-shotgun is over and done with.

The only reason I take that protein is because of the slow released/digesting proteins in it, I really can't stand cottage cheese at all so I needed a shake to keep me good throughout the night :P

I might have to look into that, I've never been really into taking anything other than a smoothie mixed with EAS 100% whey protein before I go to bed and it's severed me well, maybe I need to bump it up a bit.

Yea I heard great things about Green Mag as well, I got Optimum Micronized Creatine instead because I wanted a Creatine Monohydrate so I could mix it with my post workout Protein shake.

Ewwh Monohydrate water retention? No thanks, I will increase your strength that's for sure but it will give you a soft almost 'fluffy' like appearance. I forgot to mention in my post before that Sci-fit also makes a very worthy creatine(no water retention which means no fluffy appearance) you should look into it. I'm currently stacking now and it's been doing great for me.. and 37 bucks for a 3 month supply isn't a bad deal at all. There's also no loading phase which is awesome.

I just started it last week so I'll post more on it as it starts taking it's full effect.

If I were to use Green Mag in the future how would I take it? Drink that first then the post workout protein after?

You'd take it about 30 minutes before your workout, if you go to the controlled labs website it should have a stack set up for you on there that tells you if when to take it if your taking it with any of their other products i.e White flood. Also just like Sci-fit it wont give you that fluffy look that I keep taking about that monohydrate seems to be so well known for.

I had the idea the other day of going on a guerrilla campaign against the smith machine in my gym. So, I typed up this one page flyer and left copies around the smith and the cubbyhole area where people stick their coats and bags and such. The day after the first time I put them out there, they were gone. So, anticipating this, I brought more. Heheheheheh

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Why You Should Avoid The Smith Machine

Machines are never superior to free weights. Never. Ever. I'll say it again....Never. And the Smith machine is the worst of the worst. Yes, I know your trainer or your best friend told you that the Smith is a wonderful thing, and one of the most functional and safest pieces of equipment in the gym. They may have even told you to stop using free weights and to use the Smith because it's safer. They're dead wrong, and I'm going to tell you why.

1. Pattern Overload Syndrome: The Smith machine locks you into a fixed plane of motion, which can lead to what is known as 'pattern overload syndrome'. The more fixed the object, the more likely you are to develop a pattern overload, and the Smith follows an extremely fixed pathway. This fixed pathway repetitively loads the same muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints in the same pattern, encouraging micro-trauma that eventually leads to injury. If you always uses a Smith machine for your bench presses, you end up working the same fibers of the prime movers in the bench press all of the time: triceps brachii, pectoralis major, long-head of the biceps brachii, anterior deltoids, and serratus anterior. You can't change the pathway; the bar will always be in the same position. This commonly leads to chronic injury over time.

2. Reduced Stabilizer Training: The weight is stabilized for you. However, joints normally operate in multiple planes, and recruit a myriad of other muscles to help stabilize load. Use of the Smith machine greatly decreases this stabilizer activity. This creates a problem when translating your strength and muscle gains back to real life. If you have not trained the stabilizing muscles, you create size and strength imbalances in these muscles that would normally be assisting in the lift. In addition, having weak stabilizers will serve to shut down the prime movers before the prime movers are ready to shut down. If the stabilizers cannot maintain joint integrity there is a feedback mechanism that will cause the prime movers to shut down, or "fail." When you're helping your buddy lift that heavy piece of furniture, or pulling that heavy sack of groceries from the back seat of your car, it won't be attached to a bar that assists your move and travels in a straight up and down plane of motion.

3. Compromised Center of Gravity: When you squat with your knees out in front there is added pressure on the spine. When you free bar squat, the path of the bar is traveling over the instep of your foot and you are driving through your natural center of gravity (COG), the COG you create by moving your hips back and bending your knees on the descent of the squat. When you are on a smith machine with your feet positioned out in front, you are causing your body to drive through a false center of gravity. Now, instead of the weight being over your feet, it is directly in-line with your spine and your feet are out front, placing your new (false) COG somewhere about mid thigh. The problem this poses is that your spine is not in a healthy position to stabilize force. Your hips are there not only to move the lower body, but also, to stabilize forces being placed on the body. If you put them out front you take that ability away from them causing all of the weight to be compressed on the spine without anything to absorb the shock. NOT GOOD!

These principles clearly apply to any exercise you might want to do on the Smith. Take, for example, the squat. Because of the mechanics of the knee joint, the body will alter the natural bar pathway during a free-weight squat to accommodate efficient movement at the knee. A fixed bar pathway doesn't allow alteration of the plane of motion for efficient movement of the joint, thereby predisposing the knee to harmful overload via lack of accommodation. And, for all of you that like to put your feet out in front of you, in addition to the COG problems outlined above, if your feet are out in front of you, you tend to push back against the bar. Doing so changes the function of the hamstrings role in the move, removing it's stabilizing, protective effects on the knee joint. The result is an increased sheering force on the knee. Again, over time, chronic injury, and even possible traumatic knee injury.

So. Now that you're armed with the facts, you know to stay away from the Smith (actually any machine that locks you into one plane or arc of movement, but we're taking about the Smith here). Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with the barbells and dumbbells this fine establishment has to offer.

New training thing I've been doing with my push-up bars:

Do five push ups, then lift your legs, tuck them, and swing them forward and move them out into an L-support. Hold, then swing back into push up position and repeat.

Information: An L-support is basically where you are supporting yourself with your arms, and your legs are out together and straight, at an angle of 90 degrees or less with your torso.

At 8/17/08 10:48 PM, Elfer wrote: New training thing I've been doing with my push-up bars:

Do five push ups, then lift your legs, tuck them, and swing them forward and move them out into an L-support. Hold, then swing back into push up position and repeat.

Information: An L-support is basically where you are supporting yourself with your arms, and your legs are out together and straight, at an angle of 90 degrees or less with your torso.

I have no idea what a push-up bar is are unless you are referring to a parallel bars http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&sa fe=off&q=parallel+bar&btnG=Search+Images then I know exactly what your talking about.

Hey whats up guys.

I have started working out last summer, and have been working out for over a year now, and i have noticed some great improvement.

About half way through when i started working out, (I can't remember if that is exact or not, but it is as close as i can recall) i began taking protein powder and protein bars. At that time when i started, i was only 14, but in March i turned 15, and was still taking it. My personal trainer and stepfather, Tony said that it was fine for me to take, but recently, i had a doctor's appointment and told him that i was taking supplements, and he told me to stop because too much protein could cause kidney stones, and your body can only use so much of it at a time.

So, i went on taking it for a while because my gym teacher who goes to my gym as well, said that it would most likely be fine for me. Stupid me.

Well, then a great personal trainer named Bobby who works out at the gym, and with me and Tony sometimes, told me that nobody should take supplements because it is really a "foreign substance" that is going into your body, and it really doesn't help. He said that i should just eat lots of healthy foods, and that will be better for me.

So, i quit taking the protein powder and am now just sticking to good foods.

Anyway, besides that, my schedule goes from Monday to Friday, and i have karate on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I always do a bit of running before i go to the gym, (to get the blood flowing) and i sometimes bike ride with my friends after the gym also.

My schedule is:

Monday: Chest and back.

Tuesday: Shoulders.

Wednesday: Biceps and Triceps.

Thursday: Legs

Friday: Cardio at the gym and abs.

Saturday and Sunday, no gym. Maybe run, bike ride, swim, etc.

Now, just to clarify, every three weeks, me and Tony, and sometimes Bobby (the expert personal trainer) do a workout that he made up which consists of doing lots of reps very fast with different weight. Many reps with small weight, 10 reps with medium weight, and low reps with heavy weight.
When i say that we do them very fast, i mean that we will do one set of exercise then immediately move into a new set of a different exercise. 3 sets of varying amounts of reps that correspond to the amount of weight that we are doing. It is very good, and "shocks" our muscles, so "muscle memory" doesn't come into effect.

Haha, i remember the first time i did that, i could barely even lift my arm to take a drink!

We are constantly shaking things up by doing different exercises and stuff, but our schedule for the parts of the body usually remains the same.

Although, sometimes something will happen which will make our schedule different. For example, Chest and back on Tuesday, because we skipped the gym on Monday for whatever reason, and then everything else is moved up one day, except for the weekends, where we take a break to let our muscles relax.

Also, I will do over 100 crunches every day, unless i feel like taking a break, which is not often, but on Fridays, we really hit them hard.

I will take some days off if i go on a vacation also.

Sometimes, i begin to feel like it is taking forever for me to gain weight, and that there is something wrong with the schedule that i am doing, or what foods i eat, etc.

I know i am still going through puberty, and that is why my muscles haven't really been defined yet, but how long will it take for muscles to show on their own without flexing.

I am strong for my age, and have an above-average flex.

A lot of people i know say that it is hard for a 15 year old to be so committed to this, but lifting is my life, and i never want to stop. I want to be a personal trainer, or someone who works in sports medicine, or even someone who helps professional athletes.

Thanks everyone, and i would appreciate if you have any tips for me or answers to my questions.

At 8/20/08 02:28 AM, Zack wrote: I have no idea what a push-up bar is are unless you are referring to a parallel bars http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&sa fe=off&q=parallel+bar&btnG=Search+Images then I know exactly what your talking about.

Push up bars are like tiny paralettes, and they look like this.

Basically, they just increase the range and difficulty of the exercise.

Also: I'm currently training to do 100 consecutive push-ups on bars.

Hey guys, I'd be interested in joining this place. I have a question though: does anybody know of any good sprint exercises? I've found this whilst doing a bit of light research, and wondered if anyone could shed some light on which are the best of those exercises, or if it's a case of doing all of them for an all-round improvement.

Whats up, I fight MMA and am a avid Lifter. Thought i would drp by here once i noticed it. You guys just trade your Workouts and Diet Plans on here? Thats awesome.
I use Nitotech, Celltech, Hydroxycut..All Hardcore Formulas. I skimed over some post on this page and Would like to a yes I hate the shit out of GNC as well. They Jack prices up and always try and sell me useless shit, Incredibaly agravating. Well, I will comeback and check this out some more when I got some free time.

At 8/20/08 03:38 PM, Grimfenix wrote: So, i quit taking the protein powder and am now just sticking to good foods.

NO NO NO NO NO NO. Do not listing to fucking doctors on ANYTHING that involves nutrition. They are not trained in that shit they don't learn anything about that in med school at all do not listen to a word they say most of the time when talking to them about a diet. I'm not kidding either.

Pre-work out and Post-work out protein is so so so so so so so so important for the body I cannot stress that enough there is nothing wrong with taking it. You should be taking something like Muscle Milk(I would suggest their new product called MONSTER MILK which is more geared towards lifting and has 50g of protein per serving instead of only 32) or some sort of MPR(Meal Replacement Product) an hour before you workout, and IMMEDIATELY after your workout.

I can give you tons and tons of sources from numerous experts, but your just going to have to trust me on this, supplements on top of a GOOD DIET FIRST will do wonders for your body.

You should be a lest taking a high quality MPR and a good Fish Oil. If your worried about the way your eating I HIGHLY suggest getting the book called '150 of the best foods' or something along the lines of that and following that the '60 best meals cook book'. The guy that writes these books is a a genius on nutrition and you will learn a TON of things from reading his books if you base your diet off those foods you'll be doing fine.

Anyway, besides that, my schedule goes from Monday to Friday, and i have karate on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Karate is great( I have two black belts, not to sound like I'm bragging or anything :) ), I wish I would have combined lifting with when I did Karate, i was always strong but now I think my instructors would be really impressed.

I always do a bit of running before i go to the gym, (to get the blood flowing) and i sometimes bike ride with my friends after the gym also.

This is good, you should always do some sort of warm up at lest about 5 minutes of cardio before you go hit up the weights to like you said, just get the blood flowing.

My schedule is:

Monday: Chest and back.

This is good because chest and back are opposite muscles, working out one chest exercise then working out one back exercise will give your chest a chance to relax and you'll hit up your next exercise with a good amount of strength.

Tuesday: Shoulders.

Try sticking shoulders and legs together, it will help you out a lot since shoulders are usually a pretty quick workout.

Wednesday: Biceps and Triceps.

You should be RESTING THIS day. I don't care who you talk to, you shouldn't be doing more than 2 days of exercise with weights without a lest one day of rest in between

Thursday: Legs

If you combine legs and shoulders, today can be your cardio day.

Friday: Cardio at the gym and abs.

Get the book 'The Book Of Muscle' I highly highly recommend it will change the way that you lift forever.

Don't have a special day for abs, if you work them our right you can do them before and after every single workout which is what I do.

Saturday and Sunday, no gym. Maybe run, bike ride, swim, etc.

Good you shouldn't train with weights for more than 4 days a week or else you'll be overtraining and not giving your body enough time to rest.

Now, just to clarify, every three weeks, me and Tony, and sometimes Bobby (the expert personal trainer) do a workout that he made up which consists of doing lots of reps very fast with different weight. Many reps with small weight, 10 reps with medium weight, and low reps with heavy weight.
When i say that we do them very fast, i mean that we will do one set of exercise then immediately move into a new set of a different exercise. 3 sets of varying amounts of reps that correspond to the amount of weight that we are doing. It is very good, and "shocks" our muscles, so "muscle memory" doesn't come into effect.

This is called wave training where you do about 8 reps of heavy weight, then do about 6 reps with even heavier weight, then 4 reps with EVEN more weight. it's a great way to build muscle. If you aren't already doing this I suggest doing a back off set after this which is doing a set of 12 with really low weight. What this does if you eat a meal high in protein(or a good MPR or anything like that it will get the blood rushing into your muscles, along with all the nutriti

Haha, i remember the first time i did that, i could barely even lift my arm to take a drink!

We are constantly shaking things up by doing different exercises and stuff, but our schedule for the parts of the body usually remains the same.

This is fine, but after about 3 weeks a workout starts losing it's value and should be changed up.

Although, sometimes something will happen which will make our schedule different. For example, Chest and back on Tuesday, because we skipped the gym on Monday for whatever reason, and then everything else is moved up one day, except for the weekends, where we take a break to let our muscles relax.

Also, I will do over 100 crunches every day, unless i feel like taking a break, which is not often, but on Fridays, we really hit them hard.

Get the book 'The Book Of Muscle' seriously, the ab workouts you will learn from this book will again change the way you work abs forever. I can't push this book hard enough on anyone.

I will take some days off if i go on a vacation also.

Sometimes, i begin to feel like it is taking forever for me to gain weight, and that there is something wrong with the schedule that i am doing, or what foods i eat, etc.

Chances are if you are having trouble gaining muscle losing weight, etc. It's not the way your lifting it's what your eating. If you don't have a meal plain you need to make one right fucking now and stick too it. Working out without eating right isn't going to do SHIT FOR you, I'm not exaggerating.

I know i am still going through puberty, and that is why my muscles haven't really been defined yet, but how long will it take for muscles to show on their own without flexing.

For fucking ever seriously, I am not going to tell you that they will show up soon. It will takes a lest a few years of strong lifting before you come close to getting the body you want, I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the goddamn truth =p. Get the book 'The Book Of Muscle'

I am strong for my age, and have an above-average flex.

I believe it. Just out of curiosity, whats your weight, one rep maximum, body fat etc? If you don't know any of those I suggest you start making a log so that you can chart your progress.

A lot of people i know say that it is hard for a 15 year old to be so committed to this, but lifting is my life, and i never want to stop. I want to be a personal trainer, or someone who works in sports medicine, or even someone who helps professional athletes.

Good, with this kind of attitude it really sounds like you are dedicated to lifting. I'd really love to hear about your progress.

Thanks everyone, and i would appreciate if you have any tips for me or answers to my questions.

No problem, but once again I can't stress it enough GET THE BOOK OF MUSCLE GET SOME BOOKS ON NUTRITION Another( this post took a long time to write up so I stopped being a lazy ass and posted some links). Eat right and train hard :D. Good luck man

Double post I know, but I don't give a hell. Most of the stuff I learned about litfting weights came from this website right here. Testosterone Nation. Chances are if you have a question on ANYTHING regarding lifting, nutrition, life in general this site will answer it.

At 8/20/08 03:38 PM, Grimfenix wrote: I know i am still going through puberty, and that is why my muscles haven't really been defined yet, but how long will it take for muscles to show on their own without flexing.

A really, really long time. Looking muscular without flexing at all is very rare, since the muscles aren't contracted. You'll need fairly large muscles and a really low body fat percentage to achieve this.

At 8/22/08 11:18 AM, Elfer wrote: A really, really long time. Looking muscular without flexing at all is very rare, since the muscles aren't contracted. You'll need fairly large muscles and a really low body fat percentage to achieve this.

You basically have to do what bodybuilders do and dehydrate yourself so that the skin over your muscles thins and thus displays your muscles better. That's what they tend to do for competitions, etc., but it's really unhealthy to do that, and although you look strong, you'd feel pretty damn weak.

At 8/21/08 09:25 AM, NEVR wrote: Hey guys, I'd be interested in joining this place. I have a question though: does anybody know of any good sprint exercises? I've found this whilst doing a bit of light research, and wondered if anyone could shed some light on which are the best of those exercises, or if it's a case of doing all of them for an all-round improvement.

We had a great sprinting program during track. If you have access to a timer and a nice place to run then I suggest doing a ladder. The best ladder that I can think of would either be the time ladder or the distance ladder. The distance ladder is nice, but only if you know exactly how far you are running. It can really give you a good workout with proper time to recover in between. Run 100 meters, walk 100 meters, run 200 meters, walk 200 meters... etc.. I never do this over 400 meters even though you can keep going as far as you want. Once you reach the top distance then you start back down. From 400 to 300, alternating the walking and running every time to give time to recover.

The time one works pretty much the same way. Run for 10 seconds then walk for 10 seconds, etc.. Do this up to a couple of minutes and then start working your way back down just like in the distance one. Both of these can get you in great shape fast and work much better then just running sprints or just running a long distance since the break you take in between should give you enough to go 100 percent on the next one.

This sounds like a club for me!

I'm 6'5, 16 years old and I weight 178 lbs ( no fat at all)
I'm very happy with my body now, this is what I weekly do:

Monday:
Cycle 26km. Play 2,5 hours of soccer

Tuesday:
Cycle 26km. Go to the gym for 2 hours

Wednesday:
Cycle 26km. Play soccer for 2 hours.

Thursday:
Cycle 26km. Do some push and sit ups at home.

Friday:
Cycle 26km. Go to the gym for 2 hours.

Saturday:
Play soccer for 1,5 hours.

Sunday:
Rest day!

I cycle 26km a day since my school is 13km from my house, and I go there by bike.
I don't mind though, it keeps me fit!

When I go to the gym I always run on the threadmill for 30 minutes or more, and I lift weights for my upper body. I do my abs too, afcourse.
I don't lift weights with my lower body because I just wanna train the muscles that make you faster in running( I got the school record and stuff, I'm thinking about being a professional runner).

What do I eat?

Well I actually eat everything I want, but I like vegetables and meat more then snacks.
I don't have those 'eggwhite shakes' because I think it's important to eat with variation.

So, that's it.. Any questions?

At 8/22/08 12:54 PM, Corky52 wrote: We had a great sprinting program during track.

That sounds more like stamina exercises for if you play sports that follow a stop / start dynamic. What I'm talking about is more along the lines of plyometrics, and just wanted to know if anybody has any good plyometric or explosive type exercises that they regularly use, which focus simultaneously on speed and strength.

I would recommend Weight Sleds or Body Weights for Strength and Speed.

At 8/22/08 02:17 PM, NEVR wrote:

At 8/22/08 12:54 PM, Corky52 wrote: We had a great sprinting program during track.

That sounds more like stamina exercises for if you play sports that follow a stop / start dynamic. What I'm talking about is more along the lines of plyometrics, and just wanted to know if anybody has any good plyometric or explosive type exercises that they regularly use, which focus simultaneously on speed and strength.

Explosion workout then. Well I know of two that worked great for me back in the day. Have you ever done box squats? It's the same as a regular squat, but instead of just going down to a point, you actually sit down on a bench, chair, box, etc.. As soon as your butt touches it you explode back up. That's a great lift to work on explosion.

The other ones would be starting out on a short job and then turn it into a hard core sprint and then slow back down. Only do these for very short distance. This helps with not only explosion, but acceleration. The box squats do wonders though if you have access to a gym.

At 8/22/08 12:36 PM, NEVR wrote:

At 8/22/08 11:18 AM, Elfer wrote: A really, really long time. Looking muscular without flexing at all is very rare, since the muscles aren't contracted. You'll need fairly large muscles and a really low body fat percentage to achieve this.

You basically have to do what bodybuilders do and dehydrate yourself so that the skin over your muscles thins and thus displays your muscles better. That's what they tend to do for competitions, etc., but it's really unhealthy to do that, and although you look strong, you'd feel pretty damn weak.

Mainly what they do is they have a strict very little sugar, very little carb diet. Then the day of the competition they will eat something like a baked potato which will bring insulin back into their bodies and rush right into their muscles, making them look bigger than they normally would.

I know I may be missing a couple of details, but other than that it's pretty damn close to what they do.

I'm up to a steady 143 pounds now with no increase in my body fat. My bulking diet seems to be working smoothly.

At 9/8/08 04:58 PM, DrForeman wrote: I'm up to a steady 143 pounds now with no increase in my body fat. My bulking diet seems to be working smoothly.

OMG, it's Dr Foreman! Keep up all the good diagnostic work, man. ;P

On a gym-related note, I went on my treadmill today, cranked up the incline to the maximum it would go, and put the speed up to just below the maximum. Makes for an intense run. I recommend trying it yourselves if you have access to a treadmill, and see how long you can go for.

Hey, can I join this club? Following NikeNick's example...

I'm 5' 10" or something, and about 150 pounds.
Monday: soccer practice for 2 hours
Tuesday: soccer practice for 2.5 hours
Wednesday: fitness day, maybe run the Cooper, then soccer for 2 hours
Thursday: soccer for 2.5 hours
Friday: nothing
Saturday/Sunday: possible soccer game, run 2.5 miles

At 9/8/08 08:04 PM, NEVR wrote:

At 9/8/08 04:58 PM, DrForeman wrote: I'm up to a steady 143 pounds now with no increase in my body fat. My bulking diet seems to be working smoothly.

OMG, it's Dr Foreman! Keep up all the good diagnostic work, man. ;P

You know how I do.

On a gym-related note, I went on my treadmill today, cranked up the incline to the maximum it would go, and put the speed up to just below the maximum. Makes for an intense run. I recommend trying it yourselves if you have access to a treadmill, and see how long you can go for.

Hahaha not only does this sound intense, but at the same time fucking dangerous, hell I get nervous just running on a treadmill in general I can't imagine what this would be like.

I'll have to give it a try though when I start putting regular cardio back into my workout.

Just a funny story my buddy posted earlier on a lifting forum I frequent I found it pretty funny so I figured I'd share it with you guys.

Just got back from this weeks pressing workout, and I've just seen something that blew my mind. Everyone's seen prettyboys doing the infamous "frat-curls" in the squatrack etc, but I've never seen it taken to this extreme before.

I got to the gym at maybe 9:15, and there's this frat looking dude in the squatrack curling. So big deal, I didn't need to squat today, live and let live. But after about twenty minutes, I noticed that he was still curling, now on the preacher bench. Curling again and again with 25 or 35 pounders. Sometimes hammer curls, sometimes barbell curls, but always curls. 45 minutes have passed, and he gets up from the preacher bench.... only to start performing standing curls! By this point I'm almost impressed by his endurance. I finished my workout in an hour, and when I left this guy was straining in front of the mirror doing standing hammer curls. He might still be there now, haunting the gym like some sort of biceps-obsessed phantom...

Anyway, I don't want it to sound like I'm just bitching about "stupid gym people" or anything. I really don't care what he does as long as he's not in my way. I'm just amazed... That has to be the most intense biceps workout I've ever seen.

Too bad he doesn't have much to show for it.

At 9/9/08 05:41 PM, DrForeman wrote: Hahaha not only does this sound intense, but at the same time fucking dangerous, hell I get nervous just running on a treadmill in general I can't imagine what this would be like.

Luckily, my treadmill has one of those key-type bits that you have to insert into the slot (ooh, sexual innuendo ^_~) for the treadmill to actually work at all. It has a bit of nylon string attached to it, on the end of which is a clip that you can clip onto your shirt, or nipples if you're not wearing a shirt... so basically if you are unlucky and fall off, the key will be yanked out of the slot and the treadmill will stop.

Obviously, I wouldn't advocate doing it without some form of safety measure though, because it is fairly dangerous unless you know what you're doing.

I'll have to give it a try though when I start putting regular cardio back into my workout.

Yeah, I've started doing a lot more cardio lately, other than just upper body weights training. Makes a world of difference to mix it up a bit.

At 9/10/08 06:45 PM, DrForeman wrote: Just a funny story my buddy posted earlier on a lifting forum I frequent I found it pretty funny so I figured I'd share it with you guys.

Too bad he doesn't have much to show for it.

LOL, shame. I guess some people just don't have the physique to gain more muscle quickly. I'm personally quite stocky anyway, so for me putting on muscle and general bulk is easy enough. I don't have to be that extreme about my weights training.

So... Can I join?

At 9/10/08 08:13 PM, jew193 wrote: So... Can I join?

Nobody said 'no', so I don't see any reason why not. I didn't really ask to join, just started posting here. As long as you have something to contribute then it's usually all good IMO.

At 9/10/08 08:20 PM, NEVR wrote: Nobody said 'no', so I don't see any reason why not. I didn't really ask to join, just started posting here. As long as you have something to contribute then it's usually all good IMO.

Alright, fair enough.

Well, I guess it's worth noting that today blows for me. I had soccer practice for school today, which, on Wednesdays, is fitness. (yay) Anyway, I also have soccer practice for my club only a few hours later. So I'm dead tired after the second one.

Do you guys do any strength training during the week? I'm just curious, I mean for sure a soccer player could at lest benefit from some leg work.